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W&L Law Grad Retires as Dean of Bowen School of Law

John M. DiPippa, a 1978 graduate of Washington and Lee’s School of Law, has stepped down as dean of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and has received dean emeritus status.

DiPippa, a member of the UALR law faculty since 1983, served as associate dean from 1990 to 1993 and from 2001 to 2008. He was appointed interim dean at UALR July 1, 2008, and was subsequently named dean on Feb. 13, 2009.

DiPippa was recommended for dean emeritus status by former U.S. Attorney Paula Casey, who assumed the position of interim dean on July 1, and by Sandra Robertson, UALR’s provost. At an event in his honor, a portrait of DiPippa was unveiled; it will hang in the Coyne Deans Gallery. A large photo from his college days was also displayed, and the school gave him an award for nearly 30 years of service.

During his three-and-a-half-year tenure as dean, DiPippa led the law school to successful re-accreditation with the American Bar Association. The school raised a total of $3.3 million in current and future funding commitments under his leadership.

In the announcement of his decision to return to the classroom, DiPippa said: “I am particularly proud of the things we have achieved at Bowen during my tenure as dean. We added concurrent degree programs with the College of Business and the UAMS School of Public Health, bringing to seven the number of partnered-degree programs Bowen offers. We’ve endowed numerous scholarships and increased alumni involvement significantly.”

Prior to joining the UALR law school, DiPippa had served with the Legal Aid Society of Roanoke Valley.

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